I’ve been nosing around the autochrome photographs on Wikimedia again and on this occasion I turned up the slightly-dull-but-full-of-possibility ‘Still Life with Ornate Chinese Vase’ by Frederick S Dellenbaugh, an American photographer. There’s no date attached to the image (it’s part of the Google Art Project) but autochromes were patented by the Lumière brothers in 1903 and marketed in 1907; it was the only colour process until superseded by colour film in the 1930s.
Although I haven’t added any painterly textures, the result of adding a texture from Kerstin Frank and another from 2 Lil’ Owls has made it look like a still life painting where the detail is immense, so great that you’re not sure whether it might not be a photograph. I’m thinking particularly of the Christmas Still Life by Eloise Harriet Standard that I put up for sale at Christmas.
People often ask if my work is really ‘accidental’ but I can assure you it is. I didn’t start The Chinese Vase off with the idea of a ’painted’ still life. As ever, I experimented with various textures and modes (‘overlay’, ‘burn’ and so forth) until an effect grabbed my aesthetic eye.
I would never have imagined the two textures above would have brought out the colour of the flowers and the brush strokes of the vase in the way they have nor, indeed, made the background recede to black as it has. It’s all very satisfying.
Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America [14 fulfillment centers in 5 countries]
Saatchi Art
Take care and keep laughing!
Good morning Sarah…I found this very interesting. I love to know about the thinking behind an image….and through this post I can see that you and I work in many similar ways. I hope you have a lovely weekend, and that the sun is shining for you……..and of course keep smiling. Janet. :)xxx
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Sisters under the skin! The sun is shining and the goat bells are dingling and all is humming along nicely. Happy Weekend! 🙂 xxx
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That does sound so lovely – sunshine and goat bells…I would love that, and yes most definitely sisters under the skin:) Enjoy your day…janet. xxx
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You can find mundane things and turn them into works of art. Fabulous. Happy weekend, Sarah.
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Oh, you’re such a sweetie, Olga!
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That worked so well, and gave the image some real depth. Nice work as always, Sarah.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Bless you, Pete! x
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As a lover of all things Chinese I think the vase is exquisite. I’d love a close-up of the detail 😉
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Click on the Redbubble or Fine Art America links and you’ll be able to see a close-up!
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It’s amazing. I’m so full of admiration for what you do.
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Bless you, Mary!
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I am always surprised and thrilled by what you are able to accomplish. You have an eye for what will work and translate well, and in this case you hit the nail on the head. A fabulous piece with the richness and deep colors and shadows. What you did with the overlays for the background was brilliant. You are one creative person Sarah – hope you have a beautiful weekend.
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Oh, thank you so much, Mary!
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You have a real eye for this Sarah.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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Much thanks, David. Massive hugs. xxx
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Love your image processing technique! This turned out great!
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Thanks so much, Syd!
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